This invention relates to action toys, and more particularly to a toy having an element which rolls back and forth along a hand held wand.
A well known toy which has been marketed for many years under the name WHEELO is that in which a wheel is provided with a magnetized axle having a ferrous extension projecting from each side of the wheel which rotates along two substantially parallel steel rails. The rails are u-shaped so that as they are waved up and down by a player, the wheel rotates along the outer edges of the rails and then along the inner edges. Each rail flares outwardly at its two ends so that the wheel axle can transfer from the outsides to the insides of the rails for continuous motion. A player holds the rails at one end and moves them up and down to impart to the wheel. It is the magnetized axle which causes the wheel to follow the rails. An improvement on the WHEELO which provides for illuminating the moving element by providing a bulb therein is U.S. Pat. No. 4,031,660. The problem with the substantially parallel rails has been that they are easily moved out of alignment and the wheel cannot follow the rails once its ferrous protrusions cannot reach both of the rails. The present invention overcomes this long existing problem and provides an enjoyable toy which will remain useful under the abuse of children's play.
An earlier example of a similar toy is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,005,853 which discloses a magnet of the horse shoe variety with a rotatable armature or keeper. The poles of the magnetic are so constructed as to cause the keeper to travel in a continuous circuit about the poles while under the magnetic force exerted by said poles. These examples do not teach the single metal rail or wand of the present invention.